Doris Dickens Wilson Collection
Pages
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- Letter from J.R. Merrill to Doris Dickens
- V-mail discusses Merrill's WAC position (presumably in New York) and asks about "the gang" in San Francisco. Also mentions "PAW matters" and Merill enjoying the competition (with men?) because there are few WACs where she is.
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- Rank Promotion Notice
- Order promoting WAC Doris Jaunita Dickens from 2nd Lt. to 1st Lt. on 20 May 1944.
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- Rank promotion notice
- Order announcing the promotion of WAC Doris Dickens Hoye from 1st Lt. to Captain on 5 June 1945.
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- Individual clothing and equipment slip
- Reciept acknowledging that Doris J. Dickens turned in a gask mask to the supply officer at Hamilton Field, California, on 20 June 1944.
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- Diagram of WAC locker and contents
- Hand-drawn diagram of the bottom section and tray of a WAC foot locker, with a list of wall locker contents and shoes. Also contains instructions on preparing bunk for Saturday inspections.
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- Assignment orders
- Special Order 159 lists the temporary duty assignments of WAACs along with transportation and ration information. The WAACs listed are leaving either Wilmington or Charlotte for Ft. Des Moines, Iowa, by October 16, 1942.
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- Oral history interview with Doris Wilson
- Primarily covers Doris Dickens (Hoye) Wilson's service in the WAAC (Women's Auxiliary Army Corps) and the WAC (Women's Army Corps) during WWII, and her education and career following the war. Wilson discusses life during the Depression; her family's frequent moves; working with the National Youth Administration (NYA) after graduating from high school; attending business school in Wilmington, North Carolina; and working at the Cape Fear Hotel. She also describes life on the East coast after the attack on Pearl Harbor, including her work in a local filter center, which monitored aircrafts." Wilson shares her reasons for enlisting in the WAAC (Women's Auxiliary Army Corps); the shortage of WAACs in Wilmington; and how women had to be brought in from other states. She briefly mentions her basic training at Fort Des Moines, Iowa; receiving uniforms; and the train returning WAACs to Wilmington getting lost. Of her continued work at the Wilmington filter center, Wilson discusses the changing demands of her job there; the WAAC expectation that she work as an officer and not a secretary; what it was like to "free a man to fight;" and male soldiers' reaction to WAACs. Wilson briefly mentions attending Officer Candidate School and recalls Eleanor Roosevelt handing out the commissions. She recalls sharing a Pullman car with Shriners on the way to Fort Devens, Massachusetts and working in the base library there." Of her time at Hamilton Field, California, Wilson discusses in detail how WACs started a passenger station and welcome service for servicepersons; meeting celebrities on USO tours; and helping returning GIs. She then describes her transfer to the Officer's Promotion Unit in Washington, DC; her own promotions; procedures for promoting servicemen; and calling her fiance Stanford Lee Hoye. She recalls V-E Day, V-J Day, and President Franklin Roosevelt's death." Wilson briefly discusses her life during her marriage to Hoye but focuses on her own teaching career and education. Topic include teaching multiple subjects at the Illinois State Mental Hospital in Anna; issues in educating mental patients; being offered and accepting a professorship in family relations at Bradley University; and working towards a Ph.D. in home economics at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
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- Doris Wilson and fellow WAAC
- Doris Dickens Wilson (left), in WAAC winter uniform with Hobby hat and gloves, stands beside a WAAC nicknamed "Tennessee" who wears the WAAC overcoat, at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, circa 1943.
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- Portrait of Doris Wilson
- Portrait of Doris Dickens Wilson as a corporal, wearing her army uniform with Hobby hat. The photo indicates her pay went from $21 a month to $36.00 a month when she made corporal.
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- Doris Wilson in gas mask
- Doris Wilson wearing her gas mask, circa 1944. She notes that "those gas masks hid all your worst features!"
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- Doris Wilson in St. Louis
- Doris Dickens Wilson seated on a wall overlooking the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1942.
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- Doris Wilson at Officers Candidate School
- Doris Wilson and fellow WAAC at Officers Candidate School at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, 1943.
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- WAAC sisters
- Unidentified sisters who were friends of Doris Dickens Wilson pose for a portrait in their WAAC uniforms, circa 1943.
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- Joe O'Leary and soldier in Wilmington, North Carolina
- Joe O'Leary and soldier in Wilmington, North Carolina.
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- Doris Wilson and fellow WAAC
- Doris Dickens Wilson, in belted overcoat, and a fellow WAAC, circa 1943.
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- WAACs digging
- Two WAACs with shovels dig under a building, while another turns the spigot of a water hose, circa 1943.
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- WAACs at Fort Des Moines
- Four WAACs walk down a path at Fort Des Moines, Iowa.
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- Doris Wilson on KP duty
- Doris Dickens Wilson holds a broom while lifting the lid of a garbage can, part of her Kitchen Patrol duties. Photo identification indicates she was wearing her fatigue uniform.
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- Garbage cans
- Garbage cans outside the kitchen at a military installation, probably Fort Des Moines, Iowa, circa 1943. They are in "GI Order" and are labeled "Bones"Coffee Grounds"Grease"Trash" and "Edible Garbage."
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- Men of the 63rd Signal Corps
- Men of the 63rd Signal Corps at the Armory, Wilmington, North Carolina.
